Erik G of VideoGameologists.com explores why the Kingdom Hearts series, defying all logic, is actually a series of good games. How could something that has a ridiculous premise, some flawed design decisions, and continuously offers about 20 hours of filler to give them 2 hours of meaningful story still be so successful?
In this article he dissects the series and tells you why all of those reasons might spell doom in theory, but what Kingdom Hearts does well, it exceeds almost all other games in by comparison.
Trying to break into Kingdom Hearts is a nightmare.
My advice; play the games in release order. Alot of people say story chronological order but that can be really confusing. Trust me.
I think a problem that SE is going to run into (or already has run into) with this series is that a lot of the people still following it were kids / teens when they played the first one, and are now much older. I know I'm finding it increasingly hard to tolerate the childishness of some of the stuff in these games, and I'm sure there are plenty of original players who have since just stopped following the series for this reason. I can't count the number of times I was playing KH3 and just feeling like, "What the f*** am I doing?"
SE can keep the series PG-13, and try to get a new audience of kids, but how do they intend to get kids into a series with a story that has been expanding since 2002, and over the course of like a dozen games? Especially when there are already loads of newer franchises out there that have already pretty much cornered the kids / teens market.
Honestly, I think they should either end the series once and for all, or take it in a more mature direction, and ditch the Disney stuff (I know, unpopular opinion, probably). It is a series that hasn't really grown with its audience, I feel. Alternatively, they could try to steer it in a more all-ages Studio Ghibli direction, sort of like Final Fantasy.
Indeed. If you wanna give it a try, just go with 1-3. The other games are unfortunately needed to know but you can just youtube all the cutscenes by order of release of each game.
One of the biggest TV and movie tropes in the last decade has been the multiverse, the idea of exploring multiple dimensions to uncover alternate versions of existing ideas. From both a business and creative perspective, it makes sense why established franchises are shaking things up in this way.
However, there aren't many video games latching on to this trend, as rendering multiple worlds in real-time is a difficult feat and the medium is relatively young in comparison to its contemporaries, making crossover opportunities more difficult. Still, there are a few great titles that manage enough to overcome these challenges, and here are some of the best examples.
While I love someone mentioning Planescape, not really multiverse. Planes and dimensions, yes. But, they are typically their own locations and are very rarely tied to another 'verse' let alone another plane. The only things that are directly tied are the ethereal and material planes. Otherwise, they are dimensions created of their own design and goals by the creator/owner and not comprised of 'their own version of another dimension'.
NP: “When I played through Final Fantasy XVI, I occasionally found what I believed to be evident Kingdom Hearts gameplay inspirations that I’d rather not detail here due to spoilers. Still, with it having been previously confirmed that Kingdom Hearts staff was working on this title, the notion wasn’t all that surprising.
However, I didn’t realize how truly instrumental Kingdom Hearts team members were in developing Final Fantasy XVI. After digging through the title’s credits, I found crucial Kingdom Hearts development staff who played significant roles in ensuring the combat design excelled.”
Good gosh, if that long-rumored Kingdom Hearts HD Collection gets announced at TGS this year...Mind blown like never before.
It's no rumour or mystery why he game is so good.
Amazing plot: check
Great characters: check
Fantastic score: check
Great gameplay: check
Also nostalgia is thrown in!
The game is amazing and has a very deep twisting plot.
I haven't played because I've yet to get over the Disney factor.
If it didn't involve Disney characters and instead they just created their own characters and worlds this would probably be a much more popular series and one more gamers would have played.
Sucks because I know they are good games.